Plugging holes

Miah2bzy

Nurse Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#1
Strictly talking about a reef tank here, I took off the old overflows and have 4 holes in the bottom of the tank. Originally I was going to put in bulkheads and plug those but I'll never use them again (I'm drilling holes farther up the back for a different overflow system). I'm thinking of just siliconing glass over the top as I did on a past tank.
Thoughts?



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#3
I've sealed bottom factory holes with glass thicker than the tank and rtv silicone without issue. Seems to be a widely used patch method.

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SynDen

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#4
That's how I closed the overflow holes in my 210g sump holds water just fine so far.
 

Miah2bzy

Nurse Shark
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#5
SynDen;671257 said:
That's how I closed the overflow holes in my 210g sump holds water just fine so far.
Do I need to use similar sized glass/acrylic?


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SynDen

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#6
I cut a thick piece of 3/4" in half that was big enough to cover both overflow spots when i did. I just happened to have the perfect piece for it, but dont think you need to go that thick. Similar thickness to your tank would work fine i think. I cleaned both really well, then laid liberal amounts of silicon down on the tank bottom, pressed the glass down on top, applied as much pressure as I could, and hold for a few minutes. Then run a bead along the outer perimeter of the glass panel, and for extra measure lay a bead on the inside of the hole on the bottom of the tank. Cure and then leak test.
 

jda123

Dolphin
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#7
I used some 1/4 inch to cover holes before. You really need to get the silicone off for them to work. You don't need a lot of tensile strength here.

Do not use acrylic - it will reject the silicone after a while.
 

SynDen

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#8
jda123;n671271 said:
I used some 1/4 inch to cover holes before. You really need to get the silicone off for them to work. You don't need a lot of tensile strength here.

Do not use acrylic - it will reject the silicone after a while.
+1 I have some sheets of 1/4" glass you are welcome to have one if you need it ;)
 

Miah2bzy

Nurse Shark
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#9
SynDen;671275 said:
+1 I have some sheets of 1/4" glass you are welcome to have one if you need it ;)
I've got both. I think I used acrylic on the 30b, silicone around the hole and edges and it's holding well. I have pieces of glass too from baffles in an old 20L I'll use on this one though ;) thanks guys!!!!


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